What would happen if a young Justin-Bieber-like superstar was also an outspoken atheist? That’s the combination we find in Julian Monk, the main character in Marcus Herzig‘s novel And a Child Will Lead Them. Monk’s celebrity gives him plenty of opportunities to speak out against faith and superstition, but it also rattles his bandmates, who have to deal with the backlash.

In the exclusive excerpt below, Monk appears on Bill O’Reilly‘s show and goes head-to-head with the Bloviator-in-Chief:

The study, published in the Journal of Urban Economics, was done by Michigan State University’s Todd Elder and University College Dublin’s Christopher Jepsen.

Catholic school children actually do better at an early age, like in kindergarten, but that’s likely because they come from the kinds of families that can afford to pay private school tuition, giving them a bit of a head start in life. As they get older, however, the advantages fade:

American Atheists’ President David Silverman appeared on Fox News Channel yesterday to discuss the recent billboard placed by an 85-year-old man in Janesville, Wisconsin reading “Enjoy Life Now: There Is No Afterlife”:

Silverman, not surprisingly, approved of the message, adding that it was a good legacy for future generations: “Take care of your fellow man because, of course, God is not going to do it.”

FreeOK, an atheist group based in Oklahoma, is planning a major charity drive this winter that aims to give presents to kids in foster care and families affected by natural disasters:

HHA Gifting is the part of FreeOK’s 2013 Giving Drive aimed at providing holiday gift relief to families housing foster children and those in need of assistance for other reasons. Our kids up for gifting adoption provide us with wishlists which we then make available to volunteering sponsors.

In addition to the 70 children we will be sponsoring in placement with Jordan’s Crossing, we are also currently accepting nominations for families impacted by the government shutdown, this year’s natural disasters and really any cause that has resulted in sacrifices needing to be made in celebrations for the holidays.